gamedeals.co.zahttp://gamedeals.co.za
The official source of the best gaming deals in South AfricaWed, 28 May 2014 09:28:50 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5Game XBOX and PS3 Deals 23-26 Augusthttp://gamedeals.co.za/blog/game-xbox-and-ps3-deals-23-26-august/
http://gamedeals.co.za/blog/game-xbox-and-ps3-deals-23-26-august/#commentsWed, 22 Aug 2012 16:59:33 +0000adminhttp://gamedeals.co.za/?p=645Although I’m not the biggest fan of their stores, Game do offer some pretty good XBOX and PS3 Deals. This week, highlights include a special edition white XBOX with a white XBOX 360 Kinect, 2 Kinect Games and Ghost Recon Future Soldier for R2999.00. With regards to the PS3 deals, the 160 GB + 2 Controls + London 2012 Game is going for the rather slender price of R3299.00. They also have a fairly good selection of Games for less than R200, such as Red Dead Redemption on PS3 and Gears of War 2 on XBOX 360, so if you’re looking for a few nice games to add to your collection, Game does have something to offer.

Click here to view the large version

]]>http://gamedeals.co.za/blog/game-xbox-and-ps3-deals-23-26-august/feed/0BT Games Console Deals August 2012http://gamedeals.co.za/blog/bt-games-console-deals-august-2012/
http://gamedeals.co.za/blog/bt-games-console-deals-august-2012/#commentsThu, 16 Aug 2012 06:35:51 +0000adminhttp://gamedeals.co.za/?p=628Another month, another set of Console Deals from top gaming outlet BT Games. Apart from stock availability, this franchise never fails to impress. Although there hasn’t been much variation in their console deals of late, the BT Games August offering is still impressive. The reduction of the XBOX 360 + Mass Effect 3 + Crysis 2, Gears of War 2, Fable 3 Download Tokens from R2999.00 to R2899.00 is a welcome change. Alternatively you can swop Mass Effect 3 for Ghost Recon Future Soldier and get the exact same deal. But that’s enough mindless (SEO) inspired chatter from me. The catalogue can be viewed in all it’s glory below.

]]>http://gamedeals.co.za/blog/dion-wired-birthday-sale/feed/0The Cheapest Place to Buy a Kindle in South Africahttp://gamedeals.co.za/blog/the-cheapest-place-to-buy-a-kindle-in-south-africa/
http://gamedeals.co.za/blog/the-cheapest-place-to-buy-a-kindle-in-south-africa/#commentsFri, 27 Jul 2012 10:13:52 +0000adminhttp://gamedeals.co.za/?p=607

R1099.00 is the cheapest price you can pay for a Kindle in South Africa

I’m not a particularly big fan of IPADS, Samsung Galaxies, or any other tablet for that matter, simply because I regard them as extremely over-rated highly over-priced TOYS. While there may be certain Chinese gentlemen who are literally willing to give up internal organs for the latest IPAD (this actually happens), I stand on the other side of this particular spectrum.

But the Amazon Kindle is an entirely different beast. It is a book simulator rather than a tablet toy, and once you start using it to read, you’ll find that books are rather cumbersome in comparison. PDF’s are the new books, paper is no longer required. So if you’re wondering whether or not you should get a kindle (or another ebook reader), then the only question you need to ask yourself is whether or not you like reading? If the answer to that question is yes, then you should definitely purchase a kindle (or alternative ebook reader).

However, the subject of this particular post is this…where is the cheapest place to buy an Amazon Kindle in South Africa?

Having recently bought 2 Amazon kindles (directly from Amazon), I can tell you now that buying directly from Amazon is not the cheapest option. Once they factor in the shipping costs and excess taxes, what seemed reasonably priced before checkout jumps up by about R1000.00. So rule number 1 is don’t buy directly from amazon.

So where is the cheapest place to buy an Amazon Kindle?

The answer to that question is takealot.com. They offer the Wi-fi 6 inch Amazon Kindle (with special offers and sponsored screensavers) for R1099.00. All the other retail outlets offer the the same Kindle, but without special offers and sponsored screensavers, which increases the price by R300.00 or more. So most stores in SA will sell you a kindle for between R1399.00 and R1499.00 (Wi-fi 6 inch without special offers and sponsored screensavers), whereas takealot.co.za is the only store where you can buy the cheapest possible kindle in South Africa for R1099.00. It’s literally that simple. Vinis en Klaar. To go directly to the R1099.00 Kindle on takealot.com, click here!

What are sponsored screensavers?

Because the kindle has wireless functionality, it has the ability to present you with new sponsored screensavers and special offers whenever you switch it on, provided you are connected to a wireless network. If you aren’t connected, the screensavers and special offers will still be active, but they won’t update with new content. Sponsored screensavers don’t really affect how your kindle operates, they simply allow for Amazon to make even more money from the kindle by selling the space to sponsors. It will have an almost unnoticeable affect on how you operate your device, while it does allow Amazon with the opportunity to present the latest deals. It’s really not a big deal either way, so if it can save you R300 bucks, then you might as well opt for the cheaper option.

How people manage to kill themselves gaming is beyond me. It could just be my weak bladder speaking, but surely when the need to urinate illicits throbbing tones from your body’s nether regions, your brain takes heed of the message ? Evidently not for some. Such was the case for an exhausted 18 year old Taiwanese gamer, who stopped by his local internet cafe, never to return again. This is by no means the first ‘death by gaming’ incident to hit Taiwan or the world, although Asian’s seem particularly susceptible to the condition. Whether this is because of their exceptional abilities of zen like concentration or because of their general fascination with gaming, I don’t know. All you can really say is that when your gaming obsession adversely affects your health, you might need to tone it down a notch.

What Happened?

A Taiwanese man collapsed and died over the weekend after playing Blizzard’s Diablo III for 40 straight hours. The Australian Associated Press reported the story, citing the Taiwanese United Daily News as the source of the information.

According to the report, the 18-year-old man entered an Internet café in southern Taiwan around noon on Friday, booked a private room, and played almost two days without stopping to eat. On Sunday morning, an employee of the café entered the room to check on the man and found him resting on a table. Shortly after being roused, the man collapsed and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

This is not the first time a marathon gaming session has ended in tragedy. The AAP reported that another Taiwanese man died in February after a 23-hour gaming jag ended with a heart attack. In 2007, a 30-year-old man collapsed and died in Guangzhou, China, after gaming for three straight days, In 2005, a 28-year-old South Korean man died after a 50-hour gaming session. In 2003, police in Hong Kong cited a six-hour stint playing Diablo II at an Internet café as a contributing factor in a 28-year-old man’s death. In 2002, a 24-year-old South Korean man died after 86 uninterrupted hours of gameplay. That same month, a 27-year-old Taiwanese man lasted 32 hours before succumbing to death by exhaustion.

When you die in real life…you don’t get another turn!

Blizzard released the following comment on the news:

“We’re saddened to hear this news, and our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time. We don’t feel it would be appropriate for us to comment further without knowing all of the circumstances involved.

“While we recognize that it’s ultimately up to each individual or their parent or guardian to determine playing habits, we feel that moderation is clearly important, and that a person’s day-to-day life should take precedence over any form of entertainment.”

The standard retail price for a 4GB XBOX 360 ranges between R2000 and R2400.00 in most retail outlets around South Africa. However, there is a way to get the Microsoft console for the slender price of R499.00. Of course there is a catch, but not of the ‘sell your soul to the devil variety’. All you have to do is sign up for a 12 month MWEB ADSL contract worth R199.00 or more at a Game Retail outlet, and you become eligible for the console. So who does this appeal to?

Existing Telkom users that are fed up with the level of service offered by the 2nd worst company in South Africa (Hellkom)

People thinking about signing up with MWEB

People who are looking for an ADSL data package that is competitive with any other offering in South Africa (in terms of price and quality)

If you happen to fit into 1 of those 3 categories and you feel like buying an XBOX for R500 bucks, then do yourself a favour and sign up with MWEB. Even if you have no interest in Gaming, you could sell the very same XBOX you just bought for R499.00, cruise onto Gumtree.co.za and sell it for R1500.00, easy fuckin peasy. Serious.

Is MWEB actually that competitive?

The answer to that question is yes. As an existing Telkom user, I pay R429.00 per month just for line rental and line speed, while the company that I work for covers all my data costs. In other words, R429.00 is the minimum amount you can pay for a 1mb line with Telkom, without factoring in data costs that pretty much everyone is obliged to pay. If I were to move to MWEB, it would cost me a R339.00 per month, as per the current pricing of their website (see image below). In other words, by moving to MWEB, I would save R90.00 per month purely on line speed and line rental, without even factoring in the ‘infinite data’ component of MWEB’s deal. So by sticking with Telkom, I am paying more and receiving less. A move to MWEB would reverse that condition, and allow me to buy an XBOX for R500 bucks. This is the very definition of a ‘no-brainer’!

* The ‘Excludes Voice Line Rental’ subclause means that there is absolutely no phone line activation included in the deal. Earth to everybody that worries about this – No one uses landlines anymore. Ja my parents do, but they don’t have facebook profiles which forces you to question their very existence.

What else do you need?

An ID Document

An active ADSL Line

You need to be a first time MWEB customer

You have to sign up at an official Game Store

Need further proof?

Here is the official Game Catalog. Although the deals change slightly every week, the MWEB Deal generally ranges between R1000 and R1500.00. If you signup this week you can literally get the XBOX for R500 bucks if you signup for an MWEB ADSL 12 month contract at the same time.

You can literally get an XBOX 360 for R500 bucks

How Long Is It Valid?

This particular deal is running from the 26th to the 29th of July, but as I said at the beginning of the post, MWEB and GAME have been running deals like this for months. If my knowledge of GAMES pricing scheme serves me correctly, the offer varies between R1000.00 and R1500.00 off any wireless console almost at random. So some times you get R1000.00 off, and other times you get R1500.00 off. Whichever way you look at it, it is the cheapest way to buy either an XBOX 360 or a PS3, in South Africa. It does require an active ADSL line though, and you need to be a first time MWEB customer, and you must bring your ID to the store to actually make it happen.

]]>http://gamedeals.co.za/blog/how-to-buy-and-xbox-for-r499-00/feed/0BT Games July Salehttp://gamedeals.co.za/blog/bt-games-july-sale/
http://gamedeals.co.za/blog/bt-games-july-sale/#commentsMon, 02 Jul 2012 15:30:01 +0000adminhttp://gamedeals.co.za/?p=484The BT Games July Sale runs until the 15th of July. Max Payne for R499.00 is not a bad price, considering that it started out at R699.00. There are some pretty good deals on Call of Duty Games, and some nice titles for R199.00 like Rage and Fear 3. Take a look.

Click on the Image to Download the Catalogue

]]>http://gamedeals.co.za/blog/bt-games-july-sale/feed/0BT Games Console Deals: June 2012http://gamedeals.co.za/blog/bt-games-console-deals-june-2012/
http://gamedeals.co.za/blog/bt-games-console-deals-june-2012/#commentsSun, 10 Jun 2012 16:48:02 +0000adminhttp://gamedeals.co.za/?p=485A good 10 days into the month and BT Games have decided to update their website. Awesome job guys. Awesome. Glaringly obvious sarcasm aside, the BT Games Console Deals for the month of June are once again pretty darn good. Here’s the catalogue:

First off, I think we have to thank Bungie for delivering one of the most successful games of all time. On the original XBOX, Halo made the distinction between the XBOX and PS2 abundantly evident, a constant reminder of Microsoft’s superior technological advantage at the time. Although Sony would go on to rectify this with the PS3, the drive for Blu Ray basically gave Bill Gates a one year drop on the almighty Sony console, the kind of market share that has allowed the XBOX to threaten the very success of Sony in the console market. Regardless of how the XBOX Loop/720 vs Playstation 4 pans out, gamers will no doubt be offered an amazing gaming machine from each of these highly respectable companies…

Getting back on the Halo Train, the journeys of Master Chief have provided countless hours of campaign and multiplayer fun, Halo 2 sitting alongside Goldeneye, Unreal Tournament, and the more recent Call of Duty MW 3 as one of the most compelling multiplayer experiences ever. Unfortunately for Bungie, Halo 2 represents the pinnacle of the franchises success from a gaming perspective. Although Halo 3 would go on to break sales records (which have been broken many times over by other games), Halo ODST was possibly the worst game ever released by Bungie, a testament to the powers of corporate greed rather than gaming innovation. Fortunately, Halo Reach was an absolutely superb final offering, by far my favourite in the Halo series and a wonderful way to cap off Bungie’s influence over Master Chief, a toast the green armored warangel (you need to put the Halo atop Master Chief’s head for that metaphor to work).

And now we are presented with a new direction with the Halo series, as 343 Studios have taken on the responsibility of delivering on the expectations set for Halo 4.

Graphics:

It could just be me, but I think Bungie got slightly lazy with the Halo Franchise, the graphical improvements between Halo 2 and Halo 3 not quite the stuff of legend. They were good, but not of the ‘Gears of War’ standard, that would become the benchmark of all games on currently available hardware. Fortunately, the move to 343 studios would appears to have instigated the fresh injection needed for the visual glamour of the original Halo games to be recaptured. The enemies offer that rare combination of the extremely ugly yet graphically beautiful villains that every gamer craves, a bitter sweet combination of paramount importance. On that point, the bad guys in Halo 4 look pretty god damn massive, dwarfing the armored suits of Master Chief and his companions. More than anything, Halo 4 just looks cool again. Crysis style vegetation-based environments mixed with awesome alien villains and beautiful lighting. Perfect Halo battlegrounds.

The return of Master Chief:

Although Master Chief is almost inseparable from the franchise, the fact is that Microsoft’s posterboy has received sparse attention in recent years, with Halo ODST and Halo Reach essentially offering backstories which did very little to develop the actual Halo narrative. Now that Master Chief is back, the universe can expand beyond the confines of the 2007 Halo story. This is, for all intents and purposes, good news. Master Chief was in desperate need of some airtime.

Final Thoughts:

Halo is probably the only game that I can boast to have played every single campaign. Unlike eventual burnouts like Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk, Microsoft have managed this particular franchise with great care, acutely aware of the cultural significance of any Master Chief exploit. Given the five year lapse between Halo 3 and Halo 4, fanboys have a right to be both excited and demanding. Fortunately, Microsoft and 343 Studios would appear set to deliver.

]]>http://gamedeals.co.za/blog/halo-4-master-chief-returns/feed/0Musica Famous Salehttp://gamedeals.co.za/blog/musica-famous-sale/
http://gamedeals.co.za/blog/musica-famous-sale/#commentsMon, 04 Jun 2012 21:00:32 +0000adminhttp://gamedeals.co.za/?p=460The Musica Famous Sale is officially on. It runs from the 31st of May to the 1st of August 2012. You can download the full gaming catalogue by clicking on the image.